The Talyllin Railway Run 3rd 4th October 2015
Seven adventurous souls set off from Warwick on a beautiful but chilly morning on the 160 mile run to the Talyllyn Railway in Wales. These were Roland Robinson (‘56 Ariel Square 4), David Kendall (‘59 Norton ES2), Simon Dudfield (02 Royal Enfield), Stuart Voaden, a friend of Simon (06 BMW K1200), Malcolm Griffin with Judith on pillion (‘54 Norton Dominator 88), Dave Sketchley (‘79 Honda CX500) and Alan Bailey (‘56 Ariel Fieldmaster).
The route was similar to last year’s run, but with the addition of a rather hilly section past Llyn Clywedog which gave the clutch on Malcolm’s Norton some grief. We lunched at the Sun in Clun where the landlord quickly got a roaring log burning stove going for us. Once past Clun, traffic thinned out and on one road, the B4355 after Knighton, we went almost 17 miles without seeing another vehicle travelling in the same direction as us. Amazing
.
Towards Machylleth, Malcolm turned off to take a less hilly route to the hotel, while the rest of us tackled a serious mile long hill which made me wish I was riding Roland’s Square 4 rather than my ‘little’ 500 twin. Thank goodness Mrs Bailey wasn’t on pillion.
After that a quick run downhill to the lakeside hotel where the bikes were safely locked away for the night.
The following morning – sunny again – what have we done to deserve this? - we set off for Wharf Station at Tywyn where son Andrew had arranged for us to park in the station yard. 10.30 am prompt, we set off in the specially reserved observation coach immediately behind the 1918 vintage engine, waved on our way by David K and Simon who had decided to forego the train ride and leave early to get home before lighting up time. So, travelling with windows open, we were entertained with some good sound effects, smoke and steam on the 7 mile run up the valley.
Back home Sunday afternoon, with lasting memories of good weather, quiet roads and good company. What more can you ask for?
Our thank go to Alan Bailey for all the hard work he put in organising the event, taking the photos and writing the report and son Andrew for organising the ride on the train. Thanks also to our hosts at the lakeside hotel for their hospitality and allowing us to store the bikes in a secure garage.
